Orioles fail to complete victory over Red Sox with sloppy 7-3 loss, ending win streak at 7 – Twin Cities

Even without the rainy conditions that characterized Sunday’s series finale between the Orioles and Boston Red Sox, Baltimore hasn’t played its best defense at Fenway Park this season.

The trend continued in the Orioles’ final game of the year at the legendary ballpark, a sloppy 7-3 Loss that ended their seven-game winning streak as the Red Sox dodged a sweep. Five of them Runs allowed by Baltimore (90-52) were unearned. After committing multiple errors for more than a month, the Orioles have done so in consecutive games, with Sunday marking their third game with at least three errors. Four of the 11 games this season with more than one error came in Boston. In total, they made 10 errors in six games at Fenway Park.

The loss, coupled with the Tampa Bay Rays’ victory over the Seattle Mariners, reduced Baltimore’s lead in the American League East to three games with 20 contests remaining. The Orioles entered the day with their magic number, clinching a playoff spot at five, with the possibility of securing their first berth since 2016 at their upcoming home game against the St. Louis Cardinals and Rays.

“Unfortunately, we just didn’t play very well today,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We just won 7-2 on a trip. Didn’t play particularly well the first time. Didn’t play very well last time. We played seven excellent games and were super happy and proud of what we achieved on this trip. It’s not easy traveling to Arizona, Anaheim and then Boston, three completely different climates, stadiums and extremely good play on the trip. Today just wasn’t our best day, but we were very happy with our performance.”

Sunday’s contest began after a 42-minute rain delay and, despite the raindrop, lasted until the bottom of the eighth inning, when another delay began. After another 88 minutes the game resumed. Right-hander Joey Krehbiel covered the three outs of the frame around the break, stranding a runner at third base after a throwing error by catcher Adleyrutschman.

Boston (73-70) scored the final seven runs of the game after Baltimore scored three runs in the second on an infield single by Aaron Hicks and a two-run triple by Adam Frazier. A fielding error by Gold Glove third baseman Ramón Urías led to two unearned runs in the third inning against rookie right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who gave up hits to three of the first four batters in the fourth inning as the Red Sox scored a 4-1. 3 scored lead.

Rodriguez retired with one out in the fifth, marking the first time in 10 starts that he failed to complete that frame since he was reinserted into the Orioles’ rotation in mid-July after returning to Triple-A. The 23-year-old had a 2.95 ERA during that time, averaging just under six innings per start, after posting a 7.35 ERA in his first ten starts. Hyde praised how he handled the fact that it rained during his trip.

“There were some different conditions,” Rodriguez said. “I felt like my first time at Fenway would have been a little drier, but you just have to deal with it.”

Cole Irvin left a runner on Rodriguez’s count to end the fifth, but first baseman Ryan O’Hearn’s fielding error extended the sixth run and led to Tristan Casas’ game-opening three-run home run. It was the only hit Irvin allowed in 2 2/3 innings.

Rodriguez, who often attributed his increased confidence in his second major league stint in part to the defense behind him, said Sunday’s performance was uncharacteristic.

“I don’t expect this to happen again,” he said. “Obviously our defense was one of our better things on this team. It’s just one of those days. Apparently the field conditions were not optimal, making it very difficult for them. Lots of wet baseballs, lots of weird jumps. That’s not something you should expect from them.”

The Orioles’ offense was barely threatening after the second inning, striking out nine times while managing just one hit with a runner in scoring position. Frazier was thrown out at second while trying to extend a single to open the fifth inning, and afterrutschman doubled with two outs, Gunnar Henderson singled. Baltimore hasn’t recorded a hit in the last four innings, leaving the team just three hits away from continuing its seven-game streak of double-digit hits.

“We just didn’t play our best baseball game,” Hyde said.

Cardinals in Orioles

Monday, 6:35 p.m

TV: MASN

Radio: 97.9FM, 101.5FM, 1090AM

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